The event kicks off with a bang on Nov. 29, when members of Lamb’s Artillery stage a Revolutionary War-era encampment, complete with cannon firing and musket drilling.(Photo: Photo courtesy of Sean Blinn)

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The Vanderveer House offers free tours on the second Sunday of every month from 1 to 4 p.m.

Colonial Christmas also includes a Colonial Christmas cocktail party on Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m.

Besides the holiday décor, guests can listen to Colonial music and shop for holiday goods.

Throughout the year, the Jacobus Vanderveer House and Museum in Bedminster, a National and New Jersey historic site that served as the headquarters for Gen. Henry Knox and his wife during the winter of 1778 and 1779, is a popular New Jersey attraction because of its historic and architectural appeal.

However, this December, history buffs will head to the Vanderveer House for the 12th year to celebrate their own Colonial Christmas, just as the Vanderveers and Knoxes did more than 200 years ago.

Colonial Christmas, the House's signature fundraising event that will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 4 to 7, features Revolutionary-period Christmas ornamentation adorned by local decorators and designers. This year, Debbie Budd of The Rose and Radish, Ann Marie Brunicardi of Elegant Taste and harpist Odarka Stockert worked together to create a festive "drummer boy" setting, this year's theme. Tickets are $10 at the door and can be reserved online; kids under 12 are free.

Besides the holiday décor, guests can listen to Colonial music by the Bernards High School Madrigals, The Ridge Choir and The Harmonium Choral Group, and shop for holiday goods from more than 20 merchants.

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Housed in the small parlor of the 1813 wing of the Jacobus Vanderveer House, the Prich Matthews History Center contains a small but authoritative collection of historical documents and books chronicling the origins and restoration of the Vanderveer House, colonial architecture, General Henry Knox, the American Revolution and Colonial life. Photo courtesy Wick Smith

The Kitchen Hearth Exhibit, added in 2011, features a large trompe l'oeil fireplace by Chester artist Dan Mulligan that is patterned after others that appeared in Dutch homes of this era. Photo courtesy Wick Smith

Period antiques and accessories in the 1813 Small Parlor get a festive touch with natural window swags for the annual Colonial Christmas.
Photo courtesy RCB Communications Photo Courtesy Jacobus Vanderveer House

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A guided tour will be offered to check out the permanent exhibits such as The Kitchen Hearth, The Vanderveer Parlor, The Knox Bedroom, The Prich Matthews History Center and The Lumber Room.

This year, Colonial Christmas will have two new additions. A private collector has loaned a rare, authentic Revolutionary War drum to the museum. Also, a commissioned piece of art by Bernardsville artist Thomas Calvin Houtz will be on display depicting Knox and his family in front of the Vanderveer House prior to departing for the Pluckemin Cantonment.

The Revolutionary period won't be contained to the indoors. Members of John Lambs Artillery will stage a Revolutionary War-era encampment, complete with cannon firing, musket drilling, open-fire cooking and Colonial crafts.

Colonial Christmas also includes a Colonial Christmas cocktail party at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 5 that costs $100 to $150 and requires reservations. Guests will arrive through a collection of Colonial-era lanterns among drumbeats performed by a re-enactor portraying Revolutionary War drummer boy John George. Then, they will drink and eat with Colonial touches while listening to harpist Stockert and shopping for local luxury goods.

Although the Jacobus Vandeveer House is focusing its attentions on the Colonial Christmas event, it also offers free tours on the second Sunday of every month from 1 to 4 p.m.

It has a good reason why — it's the only remaining building associated with the Pluckemin encampment, which is the first installation in America to train officers in engineering and artillery. Jacobus Vanderveer built the home in 1772, and in 1778 lent it to Knox, who was coming from Boston to command a new artillery encampment and training academy that the Revolutionary armies were setting up in Pluckemin.

The House also has architectural value as it is considered a prime example of Dutch-American architecture modified and enlarged in the Federal period, still equipped with much original fabric and wide pine-board flooring. The main block of the house, built in 1772, is a representative 18th-century Dutch dwelling, with mud walls, sturdy wooden beams and fireplaces from Holland.

The Jacobus Vanderveer House, located off of Route 202-206 in River Road Park, is one New Jersey attraction that winter holiday lovers, history buffs and architectural hounds shouldn't miss — whether at Christmastime or throughout the rest of the year.

Jenna Intersimone's "Life Aboard The Traveling Circus" column appears Tuesdays. Her "Life Aboard The Traveling Circus" blog is at MyCentralJersey.com, as well asLifeAboardTheTravelingCircus.com. Tweet her at @JIntersimone or email her at JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com.